Privateers Begin Road Weekend With First Ever Trip to Abilene Christian

NEW ORLEANS AT ABILENE CHRISTIAN
THURSDAY-6:30 P.M.
MOODY COLISEUM | ABILENE, TEXAS

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FIRST SERVE
The New Orleans Privateers volleyball team (12-11, 2-5) jumps back into conference play with a road weekend starting on Thursday night against the Abilene Christian Wildcats (4-17, 4-4). First serve is slated for 7 p.m.
 
The Privateers are coming off a five-set win on Monday against non-conference foe, UT-Rio Grande Valley. New Orleans got double digit kills from Cara Sander (13), Takierra Boughton (11), and Blessing Dunn (10) in the win. New Orleans is now 3-0 in five-set matches on the season, having also recorded full distance victories over Presbyterian and La Salle.
 
Heading into the week, New Orleans is ninth in the NCAA in service aces per set while pacing the Southland at 1.82 aces per set. Individually, Shaylene Reimer ranks in the Top 100 (tied for 80^th) in aces per set. Dunn appears next on the list at 136^th in the nation.
 
With the win at home, New Orleans is now 7-3 at the Human Performance Center. The last time the Privateers won double digit home matches was back in 2004, when they went 12-6. The Privateers have seven home matches left this season.
 
QUICK HITS
-The 13 aces on Monday tied a season high for the Privateers. The same number was achieved against Grambling on Sept. 19. Samantha Uline led all individuals on the night with five aces.
-Kaitlyn Grice has racked up 19 total blocks in the last four matches, adding another six to that total against UTRGV. Grice is at 64 total blocks.
-Keke Irby posted a new season high with nine kills on Monday. Irby also had her first match of the season with double digit points, scoring 11.5 on nine kills and four total blocks.
-This will mark the first meeting between both schools in Abilene. The Wildcats have taken both matches against the Privateers in New Orleans.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Abilene Christian comes in having lost their last match by a 3-1 count to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Wildcats became only the second of the Islanders' last 10 opponents to take a set. Jennifer Loerch posted 16 kills to lead the team.
 
Jason Bibler is in his second season at the helm. In his first year, the Wildcats finished 6-24 overall with a 4-12 mark in conference play. This season, Abilene Christian lost their first 13 matches against a rugged non-conference schedule before picking up their first victory of the year against Northwestern State on Oct. 1.
 
Loerch was named Southland Conference Honorable Mention in 2014 after ranking fifth in the conference in kills. This season, Loerch is sitting in fourth with 3.29 kills per set. Loerch's season high in kills is 20, which occurred at Texas A&M on Sept. 5.
 
Madison Hoover has seven straight matches of 15 digs or more, which included a season-best 38 digs against Stephen F. Austin. As a team, the Wildcats are last in the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.234). The Wildcats are allowing conference opponents to hit at a .198 clip against them.
 
To keep up with the latest New Orleans volleyball news, follow the team on Twitter @UNOPrivateers and @Privateers_VB or by liking New Orleans Privateers on Facebook.